In the lockerroom, Shelton and Trish (with face mask) spoof the T.O./whatshername MNF promo. But Vince, comes in to put the kibosh on things.

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, because it is time to WAKE UP! It's also time for Raw, live from Buffalo, NY...and a Fashion Report, too! Let's hope WW doesn't take a crap on this show, too, because I'm really looking to be entertained.

Benoit, in sleeveless black "4Real" tshirt and blue tights with red slashes, comes to the stage with a mic. Yep - he's tonight's GM. He books many matches.

Stacy, in cutoff denim skirt, tied-up tanktop, askew black cap, and striped legwarmers - mmm, legwarmers, shoots-off the tshirt gun. Then Simon Dean comes out. Now's about the time for me to give my long-time-coming rant. Just ignore the stuff between the ***'s if you don't care.

***WW - offered criticism when you offered something I didn't enjoy in the past. But I'm just giving up. You apparently don't care what I (nor the many other people) think. So, from now on, I'll just be changing the channel when you proffer a crappy segment. And if I find that I like what else is on better, then you'll just have to live with losing a once-loyal viewer.***

I return to see Dean walk up the ramp. In the back...who the fuck are these bimbos? Batista and Flair stalk the back. Batista is peeved.

Jericho, in blue "Y2J" silhoutte tights vs. Batista, in black "Batista" undies with crotch flame, with Flair and the Lazy Writers' Poll. Jack Doan referees, also in stripes (it's a faux-pa in the ref's lockerroom, I bet.) Batista holds Jericho in the ropes, so Jericho wins by DQ. Post-match, Batista destroys Jericho.

In the back, HHH belittles Batista. Flair tries to play peace-broker. Batista tells-off HHH. Then Flair tells HHH to lay-off the big man.

Todd Grisham has Edge in the back, and shows FOOTAGE! of Edge attacking Christian! last week. Edge then harrasses the people in back, asking if he deserves a title shot.

In the trainer's, Flair gives Batista a pep-talk (the "don't leave Evolution" speech). Batista wonders if the benefits of Evolution are worth the price it exacts. Flair says Batista should apologize, and that they owe HHH.

Shelton Benjamin grew up in a rough town.

Now, Shelton, in blue fullcuts with silver trim, wearing the IC Title, and Regal, in black "Got..." tshirt and red "England" undies and Eugene, in white jacket and blue undies, both wearing the Tag Titles, vs. Christian! (with another new theme) in white ring jacket with gold sleeves and hood, and yellow tights with red "C"s on black crests, with Tomko, in black, and La Resistance, both in blue vests and black "La Resistance" undies. Jack Doan referees again. Fuck you, Lawler - lay off the rough past, already (see how you buried BookerT?). Shelton with the pin. Post-match, Eugene parties with the little kids. (Let the children come to me.)

Assam the Angry Arab at the Airport. All Allah, all the Time. (Assam's promo has been brought to you this week by the letter "A".) So there goes any hope that WW might be treating this in any way other than the "evil foreigner" stereotype. That reminds me of the Future-rama episode with the foreign robot wrestler "I'm not from around here."

Smackdown! rebound.

Down comes the ring. Lawler, in purple sportscoat and black shirt, and JR, in black suit and hat, play at Greek Chorus.

Benoit, in tights, vs. HHH. Or not. In the back, Batista storms off. Flair calls for a doctor, and we see HHH laid-out in the Evolution lockerroom. Trainers and referees flock around the fallen champ. Edge is around to talk smack to the on-the-scene Benoit, who books himself vs. Edge out in the cage.

Benoit vs. Edge, in black trenchcoat and black faceprint tights. Mike Chioda's been standing alone in the ring all this time, but now he gets to referee a match. Hey, Batista's watching on a monitor in the back (and here we all thought he'd left). Quickly, AdBreak is on the scene.

Cont. Audio is a bad thing, I guess. Benoit is bloodied. FIVE German suplexes mean the tide is turning. Many headbutts, culminating with a diving headbutt. Edge spears Benoit through the cage door and to the floor. Benoit wins by escape.

In the back, Flair confronts Batista. Apparently HHH is conscious again. Batista says he'll wait for HHH in the ring and that Flair had better pick a side.

Presently, Batista is in the ring and on the mic, calling-out HHH. A woozy HHH, with Flair and a trainer trying to hold him back, comes down to the ring, carrying his Title. Aw, those dirty MF's. It was all a ploy to get HHH out of his title match. (Oh, and the doctor was in on it, too.) Well at least, now, when it comes for real, we'll all be surprised.

Randy, in white shirt (top three buttons undone) and black slacks, comes to the stage to trade barbs and banter with Evolution. Next week, Orton is the GM. Next week HHH will be facing EVERYONE on the Raw roster in a battle royale, for the Title.

Overall: Well, last week (from what I saw) we had the temptation of Maven. This week was the rebellion of Batista. I can get behind these episode-long story arcs. But the crap like Simon Dean and Assam the Angry Arab, along with the influx of nameless bimbos makes me wonder if the same writers can possibly be responsible. An okay show.

Opening video was awesome. I was not expecting that at all. Everything Trish touches is gold lately.

Anyone notice how Maven is now back to curtin jerking the first match just like Triple H said he would be? Thats funny.

Its a shame Nova was talking about ECW and acted like he never wrestled there. Maybe he is bitter he isnt really mentioned in the entire DVD.

The story about Shelton was kinda neat, its a good way to build him up and get him more over.

I didnt even think about a Batista swerve until Triple H walked out at the end. As soon as I saw him walking down, it hit me what they were doing. I guess its a good sign that it took so long to see that angle.

I also loved the NFL spoof at the start of the show. Trish wearing the noseguard along with the towel was a cute touch. Don't ask me why.

Also, I loved the HHH/Batista swerve. I never saw it coming, possibly due to having SPOILERS shoved down my throat about how Batista was going to leave Evolution. CRZ was right. Don't believe everything you read, kids.

Wow. That opening segment was: Poorly acted, Gratuitous, Shameless, and absolutely hysterical. Especially Vince and Trish trying to get around that headgear.

How many people, upon discovering Benoit would be facing Edge in the cage, opted for football?

While The HHH/Batista stuff was questionable, and instantly obvious when HHH was found in the locker room (well, at least to me, I guess), the surprise for next week certainly wasn't. This can rule if they use this as a way to put the belt on CHRISTIAN! It would even make sense, because then Jericho could book himself against Christian for the title the week after, and...oh never mind.

Originally posted by The Great Thomas I loved the HHH/Batista swerve. I never saw it coming, possibly due to having SPOILERS shoved down my throat about how Batista was going to leave Evolution. CRZ was right. Don't believe everything you read, kids.

My choice to win the title next week: Stevie Richards or Viscera.

You didn't see it coming? It was a classic Cerebral Assassin move.

Don't assume the swerve is over, either. Trips did get that last nudge in about how Batista should've won his match against Jericho anyway. I wouldn't be least bit shocked if there's still something brewing. Neither would I be surprised if the battle royal next week heats things up to some extent.

The Goal: SLACKThe Method: The Casting Out of False ProphetsThe Weapon: Time ControlThe Motto: "Fuck Them All of they Can't Take a Joke"

The opening segment was amusing, at least until Vince came in and beat the joke to death.

Saw the swerve coming from a parsec away. I didn't expect the boring show-ending jawfest that came along with it, though, although I probably should have. Just because a plot can be resolved in 30 seconds, that's no reason not to burn the last 15 minutes of the show on it, right?

That aside, it was an adequate show: Benoit/Edge was good stuff, I enjoyed the six-man even though it was way too short, and Snitsky/Maven was, at least, watchable. On the other hand, the women's match was painful.

Originally posted by Kane Is UglyIts a shame Nova was talking about ECW and acted like he never wrestled there. Maybe he is bitter he isnt really mentioned in the entire DVD

That was probably intentional, since they don't want people to realize that Nova & Simon Dean were the same person.

FWIW, Lita wasn't anywhere on the documentary, either.

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Well, they protected Benoit from jobbing to HHH. Jericho won't be as lucky.

If this were Russo-era WCW, then the fourth and final GM would join Evolution in an illogical swerve.

I guess this JR thing will be a running gag for the Survivor Series GM angle. They could trot out some legend with the initials JR next week to face Coach, but all I can think of is Jake Roberts and he's not in any condition.

I realize the Jericho/Batista match was only booked in service to the swerve, but if JR is gonna "oh what a match" something it should be a hell of a lot more entertaining than what they presented. A really empty use of Jericho, the shows aren't so strong yet that you can waste Y2J completely.

I'm countin' on God to prevent all future closeups of Snitsky's face.

This Simon Dean stuff is really, really, really bad. I'm sorry, I usually like to give stuff a chance, like Eugene for example. But as far as this goes, I have to change the channel, this guy's really terrible and feud with Hurricane hardly seems to be the ticket.

Apologize to your mirror, Edge? What does that even mean? That was weak. But I liked the "lost cause" thing.

JR standing for Just Rhyno beats the hell out of "the J is silent, but there is an R: an RKO". I still can't get over that. That's the worst thing that has ever happened on any plane of existence, I've never ever seen worse writing than that.

Trish was heelishly great in her match. Lita's mean these days.

That six-man was waaaay too short. If I'm a wrestler, why do I even want to suit up for a 4 minute match? Did they even get everyone in the ring? What a load that was.

Sue me, I kinda like those Moozlims.

I think the fact that they avoided Benoit playing a bit part in the Triple-H-barely-escapes-with-his-title sweepstakes actually says a lot about what they think of Benoit. They didn't want to undermine him, so they avoided the problem altogether. That's good news, but the the downside of that is you spent 90 minutes slinging a match you never had any intention of delivering on. That's bad news. I guess ya gotta take the good with the bad.

The Good* Chris Benoit on my TV screen* Chris Benoit as GM* Chris Benoit in a match for the World Heavyweight Title getting speared through the door of the cage. Were Edge and Benoit raised by the same pack of wolves?* Snitsky’s eye – that is just sick. Somebody should make Halloween contacts that look like that. * Women’s three-way, nice and connected* The Molly-Go-round* Hurricane on my TV screen* Maven, doing rather well pitting skill against size* Rhyno winning a match, even if it is against Coach

The Bad* Simon is pointless* So is Stacy really, but she has more personality than enough other Divas that I can tolerate her* Evolution taking up way too much screen time. Dude, we don’t care.* While more time could’ve been spent wrestling, I’ve seen worse, so I’ll count my blessings

The Ugly* Jerry Lawler earns my tolerance with the line of the night, “You were talking about how ugly Snitsky’s left eye is. The rest of his face ain’t a walk in the park either.”* JR wrestling Even the mental image of JR wrestling

Anyone else see Val Venis the background of the HHH-injury segment? Looks like someone is going for the Steve Austin look. I just wish they'd make an angle out of something like this instead of letting him sit around doing nothing. How hard is it to have a mini-angle on Heat or RAW in which Val Venis is being bullied and is the victim of hazing backstage... and finally he gets the balls to stand up to someone. That's one idea. Or they could go with the "loser loses his hair" stip to some match. Ah well, I'm still in shock that he hasn't been fired yet, since he appears to be someone whose head is likely on the block.

Originally posted by chillAh well, I'm still in shock that he hasn't been fired yet, since he appears to be someone whose head is likely on the block.

You know what though, Val Venis is one of those guys that's seemingly done every stupid thing they've asked him, and is as far as I know, fairly healthy right now. I saw him on Heat last week agaisnt Batista, and after the initial shock of "Wow he's still with the company" I realized that he got a pretty good reaction from the crowd. I could see them keeping the guy for a few more years just as a JTTS while he builds up a nest egg.

Of course, having said that I'm sure I'll log in tomorrow to see "Val Venis Fired" as the first topic....

I cannot believe there's no (or at least, very little) love for Triple H's role in that final segment last night. Come on -- he was TREMENDOUS in that whole running storyline and his mocking of Randy Orton was hilarious.

For every snide remark people have made about his position in the company (and I'll admit, I've made some of those in the past), I still think he deserves it for his show-stealing performance last night.

I mean, I think most of us could see it would be a swerve with Batista, and that's fine. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with making things fairly obvious. And Batista was great, too; with HHH's one comment about "You still should have beat Jericho," it keeps the door open for a feud down the line. But I think there should be credit given where credit is due -- Triple H rocked last night.

does anyone know if any of the following intercontinental and tag team title changes are on any wwf video the rockers hart foundation tag belts ssnme 1990 when change was overturned the mountie vs bret hart ic belt 1992 house show mony inc leigion of doom...